Frederick VIII of Denmark

Styles of
King Frederik VIII of Denmark Reference style His MajestySpoken style Your Majesty Alternative style Sire

Frederik VIII (Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl) (June 3, 1843 – May 14, 1912) was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.

Biography

He was the eldest son of King Christian IX and his wife, Denmark's heiress, Louise of Hesse - and was born in Copenhagen. As Crown Prince of Denmark he formally took part in the war of 1864 against Austria and Prussia, and subsequently assisted his father in the duties of government. He became king of Denmark on Christian's death in January 1906.

In many ways Frederik VIII was a liberal ruler who was much more favorable to the new parliamentarian system than his father had been. Because of his very late accession to the throne he only got few years to show his ability and he was weakened by ill health.

On his return journey from a trip to France, King Frederik made a short stop in Hamburg, staying at the Hotel Hamburger Hof. The evening of his arrival, Frederik (incognito) took a walk on the Jungfernstieg. While walking he became faint and collapsed on a park bench and died. He was discovered by a police officer who took him to a Hafen hospital where he was pronounced dead. His cause of death was announced as a paralysis-attack. He was interred with other members of the Danish royal family in Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen.

The royal families of Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Luxembourg are descended from King Frederik VIII. Denmark comes naturally, Norway's family goes through the line of his son, Prince Carl, and the families of Belgium and Luxembourg are descended from his daughter, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.

Ancestors

Frederick's ancestors in three generations Frederick VIII of Denmark Father:
Christian IX of DenmarkPaternal Grandfather:
Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-GlücksburgPaternal Great-grandfather:
Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-BeckPaternal Great-grandmother:
Countess Friederike von Schlieben Paternal Grandmother:
Louise Caroline of Hesse-KasselPaternal Great-grandfather:
Charles of HessePaternal Great-grandmother:
Princess Louise of Denmark and NorwayMother:
Louise of Hesse-KasselMaternal Grandfather:
Prince William of HesseMaternal Great-grandfather:
Prince Frederick of HesseMaternal Great-grandmother:
Princess Caroline Polyxene of Nassau-Usingen Maternal Grandmother:
Princess Louise Charlotte of DenmarkMaternal Great-grandfather:
Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and NorwayMaternal Great-grandmother:
Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Family and issue

Danish Royalty
House of Oldenburg (Glücksburg branch)
Christian IXChildren Frederick VIII Alexandra, Queen of the United Kingdom George I of Greece(formerly William) Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia(formerly Dagmar) Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale Prince ValdemarFrederick VIII Children Christian X Haakon VII of Norway(formerly Charles) Princess Louise Prince Harald Ingeborg, Duchess of Västergötland Princess Thyra Prince Gustav Princess Dagmar Christian XChildren Frederick IX Hereditary Prince KnudGrandchildren Princess Elisabeth Frederick IXChildren Margrethe II Princess Benedikte Anne-Marie, Queen of Greece Margrethe IIChildren
(paternally Laborde of Monpezat) Crown Prince Frederik Prince JoachimGrandchildren Prince Christian Princess Isabella Prince Nikolai Prince Felix

Louise of Hesse wanted her eldest son married as well as her two daughters, Alexandra and Dagmar had. Queen Victoria had two yet unmarried daughters, Princess Helena and Princess Louise, and Louise tried to marry Frederik to one of them, but the British Queen didn't want her daughters to marry the heir of a foreign crown, as it would take them away from her, she wanted for them a German prince who could set his home in England beside her. Also, Victoria had always been pro-German and another Danish alliance (Frederik' sister, Alexandra, had married Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales), would not be in line with her German interests. So Louise of Hesse had to look for another wife for her son. In July 1868, Frederik became engaged to the seventeen-year-old only daughter of Charles XIV John of Sweden, Lovisa of Sweden. Princess Lovisa's family was related to Napoleon Bonaparte. She belonged to the Bernadotte dynasty, which ruled in Sweden since 1818. The founder was Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who had been one of Napoleon's generals, and who was elected King of Sweden with the name of Charles XV of Sweden. He married Desiree Clary, who had once been engaged to the French Emperor. Charles XIV's son, Oscar I, married Josephine of Leuchtenberg, grandddaughter of Napoleon's first wife, the Empress Josephine. King Oscar I and Queen Josephine were Princess Lovisa's paternal grandparents.